This World War I Battlefield Tour includes Google Maps links at each stop. Click the stop headings to travel along virtually or map the full route and take a drive along this historic battlefield route in France.

Black soldiers in the American Expeditionary Forces

When the United States declared war in April 1917 there were four regiments of African-American troops in the regular Army that had been created following the Civil War: the 24th and 25th Infantry and the 9th and 10th Cavalry. The decision was made by the War Department not to include these units in the expeditionary forces being sent to France, instead leaving them in place to serve in the American west and the occupation of the Philippines.

The Selective Service Act of 1917 expanded the pre-war military to wartime military and subjected all males within pre-determined age brackets to military service, regardless of race. This posed a conundrum for both the Jim Crow-era military and the African-American community. Within the government and the military, there was a distinct fear of the ramifications of providing military training and arming the thousands of African Americans who would be subject to the draft. In the African-American community, there was considerable disagreement about fighting for a country that denied them full citizenship.

In response to increasing pressure from activists such as W.E.B. Du Bois and organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Secretary of War Newton Baker was persuaded to state, “There is a need for both white and colored men alike … some must fight in the trenches, while others must serve in other capacities behind the firing lines.”

Du Bois advised African-American men to, “swallow their bitterness and enlist in the military.” The Crisis, the newspaper of the NAACP succinctly advised, “first your Country, then your Rights!”

In the end, the War Department assented to organization of two African-American infantry divisions under the command of white general officers. Although the NAACP advocated strongly for the ranking African-American officer, Col. Charles A. Young, to be promoted to brigadier general and assigned as deputy commander to one of the divisions, his health and fitness for continued service blocked their effort. The War Department decision to sideline Young remains controversial today.

In another concession to the Civil Rights movement, the War Department agreed to commission African Americans as officers. The department created a separate school for these potential officers at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. The school would produce lieutenants and captains destined to serve in African-American units.

Although the majority of volunteer and draftee African Americans would serve in non-combat units in labor functions, some would see combat under both French and American command.

The 92nd Division 

Authorized in October 1917, the 92nd Division was raised from draftees. This division was fully formed with divisional artillery and support elements. Between June and July 1918 the division arrived in France, where it went into training.

On Sept. 25, the division, less the 368th Infantry and the artillery brigade, constituted the reserve of the I Army Corps in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and was assembled in the woods northwest of Clermont. The American First Army placed the remainder of the 92nd Division, less its artillery, engineers and 183rd Brigade, at the disposal of the French XXXVIII Corps on Sept. 29. The corps reduced the width of the zone of action of the 368th at that time and the regiment spent most of the day rearranging and reorganizing its units.

The 368th Infantry Regi­ment

The 368th Infantry formed a part of the combat liaison between the French 4th Army and the American First Army from Sept. 26 to Oct. 4, 1918. These units went into the line on Sept. 25. The next day, part of the 368th advanced about one mile, but with the exception of one company, which spent the night about 200 yards in front of its starting point, the rest of the units retired during the evening to behind their jump-off positions.

On Sept. 27, the 368th moved forward an average distance of one mile, encountering little opposition. The next day, reinforced by two companies of the 351st Machine Gun Battalion of the 92nd Division, French artillery units and a squadron of the French 10th Dragoons, the 368th attacked in the direction of Binarville. Although considerable movement backward and forward took place during the day, the total ground gained was quite small.

On Sept. 30, a French regiment, the 9th Cuirassiers-à-pied, was directed to capture Binarville. Seeing this unit advancing, and having failed to receive the orders to stand fast, elements of the 368th Infantry Regiment attacked with the French. Binarville was captured and the front line was established beyond it. During the morning of Oct. 1, the regiment was relieved from the front line, and it passed into reserve with other organizations of the 92nd. The division was returned to the control of the American First Army on Oct, 4 and was assigned to the IV American Corps, where it proceeded to the vicinity of Toul. On Oct. 9, it relieved the 69th French Division in the Marbache Sector. It then passed from the IV Corps to the VI Corps on Oct. 25. The division participated in the attack of the Second American Army on Nov. 10-11, operating west of the Seille River along the heights on both banks of the Moselle River in the direction of Corny. The regiment suffered 270 casualties during their operations.

 The 93rd Division 

The second African-American division was the 93rd. It was formed from National Guard units from across the United States as they were federalized. They drew men from segregated African-American units in several states that were formed before the war. These were the 8th Illinois Regiment, the 15th New York Regiment, the 1st Separate Battalion of Washington, D.C., the 1st Separate Company of Maryland, the 9th Ohio Battalion, the 1st Separate Company of Connecticut, Company L of the Massachusetts National Guard, and Company G of the Tennessee National Guard. These units and draftees filled out the division.

The 93rd Division was never fully constituted and consisted of only the two infantry brigades, the 185th and the 186th; the newly designated 369th and 370th Infantry Regiments; and the 371st and 372nd Infantry Regiments.

The 369th Infantry Regiment “Harlem Hellfighters” or “Rattlers”

One of the first American units to arrive in France, the 369th Infantry Regiment landed at Brest on Dec. 26, 1917.

They were quickly assigned to the French Fourth Army for instruction and training and placed in a front-line sector north of Sainte-Menehould in the Champagne sector, where they participated in defensive and offensive operations.

It was here on May 15, 1918, that Pvt. Henry Johnson and Pvt. Needham Roberts were attacked by a German raiding party of 24 men. Although both were severely wounded, they successfully fought off the raiding party. During the engagement, Johnson rescued Roberts as he was being dragged away by the Germans. For this action, they were both awarded the French Croix de Guerre, the first African-American soldiers to be so honored. Johnson would eventually receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions, in 2015.

The regiment held the sector near Sainte-Menehould until July 5 when it was moved and participated in both the Champagne-Marne Defense and the Aisne-Marne Offensive.

When the French Fourth Army advanced northward in the Champagne region on Sept. 26, three infantry regiments of the American 93rd Division were serving in that Army as part of the French IX Corps, which attacked from a position lying a few miles to the west of the Argonne Forest.

Reassigned to the French 161st Division, the 369th was in support when the Meuse-Argonne offensive began on Sept. 26. On that day, the regiment entered a gap in the line, took the town of Ripont, captured a number of prisoners and several pieces of artillery, then continued forward in the following days, when the regiment gained a foothold on the side of the Bellevue Signal Ridge after a stubborn fight. On Sept. 29 they captured the town of Séchault.

On Oct. 14, the regiment, as part of the French 161st Division, proceeded to the Alsace, where it took over sections of the front line in the Vosges and held it until Nov. 11. After the Armistice, the regiment became part of the French Army of Occupation.

370th Infantry Regiment “Black Devils”

This regiment was organized from the 8th Illinois National Guard. It arrived in France in April 1918, and trained with various French divisions until Aug. 31. During this period detachments of the regiment were in front line positions. On Sept. 15, the regiment, as a part of the French 59th Division, went into line in the Vauxaillon area northeast of Soissons and participated in the Oise-Aisne Offensive, Sept. 17 to Oct. 12, and Oct. 24 to Nov. 11.

371st Infantry Regiment “Red Hand”

The regiment arrived in France in April 1918 and was assigned to the XIII French Army Corps. They were in training from April 26 to June 6, in the vicinity of Bar-le-Duc. The regiment joined the French 68th Division on June 13, in the vicinity of Verdun, remaining in support of this unit until June 22. From June 23 to Sept. 14, the regiment was in line in the Verdun Sector. It participated in the offensive operations of the Fourth French Army on the Champagne front Sept. 27 to Oct. 6. On Sept. 28, the 371st, along with the 372nd Infantry Regiment entered the line as part of the French 157th Division, advancing about 600 yards against machine-gun resistance. During the morning of Sept. 29, the 371st Infantry captured Ardeuil and Montfauxelles. It was here that Cpl. Freddie Stowers of C Company, 371st Infantry Regiment distinguished himself, leading his men to capture Hill 188 before being mortally wounded. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor for this action, but the recommendation was misplaced. In 1991, he was posthumously awarded the medal, making him the first African-American to be so honored for World War I. The regiment was withdrawn on Oct. 6th and proceeded to the Vosges where they remained until the Armistice.

372nd Infantry Regiment “Red Hand”

This regiment arrived at Saint Nazaire in April 1918, and proceeded to the training center in the vicinity of Givry-en-Argonne for duty with the French Army. From June 6 to July 14, and from July 26 to Sept. 9, the regiment was in line in the Argonne Sector. It participated in the offensive operations of the Fourth French Army on the Champagne front from Sept. 26 to Oct. 7, operating with the 371st Infantry Regiment. Oct. 1, the 372nd Infantry Regiment relieved the 371st and on Oct. 2 advanced about 3/4 mile to a point south of Monthois, where it was subjected to enfilading fire from the high ground to the southwest of that town. The regiment repulsed a strong enemy counterattack and held its position about 1/2 mile south of the village of Monthois until it was relieved on Oct. 7. The regiment proceeded to the Vosges Oct. 11 and remained there until the Armistice.

The casualties of the four infantry regiments of the 93rd Division totaled 591 soldiers killed in action or died of wounds and 2,943 wounded in action. All four regiments won the praise of the French authorities for their conduct.

Although nearly 200,000 African Americans would serve in the Army during World War I, and many would lose their lives in support of promises for equal rights, their sacrifice to the nation would be largely unanswered. Ironically, many African Americans who perished would be buried in federal cemeteries in segregated sections and would only see equal treatment in overseas American cemeteries, later administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission, where they would be buried without regard to race. Their struggle for equal rights would take another 50 years to begin to bear fruit, though their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Stop 1 – 369^th Infantry Regiment Monument at Sechault

On Sept. 26, 1918, the 369th Infantry Regiment captured Ripont, a small village about 6 kilometers southwest of this point. After Ripont, the regiment attacked towards Sechault, entering the village on Sept. 29. In the face of intense machine gun fire, the regiment was temporarily forced to withdraw, before moving back into the village later that day. The 369th would continue to advance northeast. It was withdrawn from the front line on Oct. 1.

The monument, a black granite obelisk, was erected in 1997 and features the coiled rattlesnake insignia of the regiment. In 2006, an identical memorial was erected in New York City, to honor the regiment in the city of its predecessor National Guard unit – the 15th New York Infantry Regiment.

To the west you should see a crest of a hill about 2 kilometers away. This is the next stop on the tour.

Stop 2 – 371^st Infantry Regiment Monument

On Sept. 28, 1918, the 371st Regiment, Company C, attacked German positions near this location. Soon after, German soldiers held their fire, and climbed up to the top of their trenches to surrender. This was a trap. As the Americans came out of defensive positions, the enemy jumped back into their trenches and fired machine guns and mortars, causing severe casualties. Cpl. Freddie Stowers, a farmhand from South Carolina, took charge of his men, and crawled towards a machine gun nest while under heavy fire. After destroying the nest Stowers continued the attack against a second trench line before he was mortally wounded.

Stowers is buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, about 40 minutes east of here. After the war he was recommended for the Medal of Honor – the military’s highest award for valor – but it would take decades before he posthumously received the award.

The 371st would continue to advance north, taking Ardeuil and Trieres Farm, before it was relieved.

The gray granite monument is dedicated to those soldiers of the 371st who fell in combat near here. It was erected after World War I; during World War II, the monument was heavily damaged.

Stop 3 – 372^nd Infantry Regiment Monument near Monthois

On Oct. 1, the 372nd entered the front line near Trieres farm and moved north. The next day, while moving through the area where you now stand, the regiment came under fire from German positions south of Monthois. The fire came “in enfilade” – meaning that the flank of the advance bore the brunt of the attack. The regiment bore down. On Oct. 5, the regiment held off a determined German attack, before it was relieved two days later.

This gray-granite monument, which honors the members of the 372nd who lost their lives in this area, features the 93rd Division insignia – the “Blue Helmet.” It is also inscribed with the French 157th Division, which was the operational command for the 372nd.

Stop 4 – Sommepy American Monument

The Sommepy American Monument, on the crest of Blanc Mont Ridge, is located on ground captured by the 2nd Division in October 1918. There is an outstanding view of the surrounding battlefields from this location. Vestiges of World War I trenches are nearby.

After the war, this monument was erected by ABMC to honor the American divisions that fought in the Champagne region, including the 93rd. The “Blue Helmet” insignia is carved in relief upon this monument, along with the names of important battlefield objectives.

Stop 5 – Navarin Ossuary

The Navarin Ossuary honors the service of the Allied soldiers who fought in Champagne. The 93rd Division is commemorated here, along with other U.S. divisions that fought under command of the French. In addition, French colonial soldiers, along with Russian and Czechoslovakian soldiers, are honored.

This memorial holds the remains of approximately 10,000 French soldiers who lost their lives in this area. After World War I, many French soldiers were laid to rest in ossuaries such as this. It is located on the Navarin farm site, which was completely devastated during the battle.

The 93rd Division fought under the command of Gen. Henri Gouraud, leader of the French Fourth Army, who dedicated the monument in 1924, and who is buried in a marked grave within this ossuary.

There are three figures on the monument. The soldier to the right is based upon Quentin Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt, who lost his life near this location. The figure is somewhat incongruous, as Roosevelt was a pilot, while the figure is of an infantryman.

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Download a PDF of ABMC’s full World War I Battlefield Companion.